EIMC 2019 - Report by Max Stehle

European Intuitive Music Conference (EIMC) 18-21.July 2019 at Garbicz, Poland.
by Max Stehle, Berlin

First printed in improfil 82, December 2019.
Deutsche Originalversion in pdf


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This annual improvisation meeting has now existed for more than 25 years. It started in Denmark, migrated for a while to Poland, then to Belgium (in Gent 2018) under the name EIMC and settled for now at Garbicz, Poland.

The new location is situated at a wonderful place directly by a lake. This was a perfect framework with its delightful attendance, its several large rooms for groups and with its comfortable sleeping-rooms for two to three persons.

This year, twenty musicians, musicologists and composers from nine countries (AU, CH, DE, DK, EST, JAP, NL, PL, RU) came together for three days.


James Aylward (AU), Max Stehle (D), JoPo Poffet (CH)

Not only culturally, but also personally and musically participants came from very different backgrounds: from full-fledged professional to amateur, from experienced improvisor to beginner, from classic to punk, from educated musician and composer to consequent autodidact.


Hans Tonino (NL), Norbert Zajac (D)

Of course confusions could arise, especially during the first and second day. However, music showed again its power to bridge all oppositions. When we departed after the concluding concert on Sunday in Exploratorium Berlin, surely everyone felt connected. This also showed in a lively exchange on Facebook.

The well established design that allowed everyone to meet on eye level was without doubt contributing to this. The various workshop leaders came out of the circle of participants - several of them decided to contribute in this form spontanously during the meeting.

Every now and again, participants found time for spontaneous sessions in different forms. On Saturday evening there was an internal concert featuring various ad hoc constellations.

This open, playful attitude also manifested itself during the concluding concert on Sunday evening. Framed by a vocal tutti at the beginning and of a tutti at the end with slowly increasing number of participants, individual and different constellations came to the stage. To a high degree, this was experimental stage work and resonated well with the audience; the joy of playing together as well as the experimental attitudes were all appreciated.

Adam Izaak Wasążnik (PL), Klaus Pernow (DK), Alwin Schwaar (CH), Laura Chihaia (CH), Tomomi Fukagawa (JAP)

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All photos: Matthias Rauh

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